Nadi

by DarlingDearestDemonic

A retelling of the classic Hobbit: AUJ DOS (Jackson universe.) In which we meet Nadi, a young Dwarve desperate to help reclaim the Lonely Mountain and prove her worth. But there's a twist: a curse lays upon her head. Through battles with Goblins, Sthrusas, and her own traitorous mind, Nadi stands with the Company. Until one day they come upon an old, vengeful friend. Kili/OC.

50. Bittersweet Goodbyes - BotFA

Warning: character death, suicide, and battlefield violence ahead.

X

"Hey. Wait, stop."

Kili turned to face his brother. Fili was immediately struck by the haggardness hanging around his cheeks that hadn't been there a day earlier. Such a look aged him, but not in a bad way. Kili's growing resemblance to their father was startling. Fili wasn't quite sure where he had gotten his own blond beard and hair from - after all, raven black hair ran deep in their family. There had been insinuations that Dis might have been unfaithful and, with the hardheadedness that ran in her blood, it would not have surprised him. Kili's eyebrows raised and Fili realized that he had been staring at him for too long of a time.

"What?" Kili asked in a worried tone. "Why are you looking at me like that? Are you planning on forcefully marrying me, too?"

"Please," Fili said jovially. "With the way you look right now, no one will be marrying you any time soon. Your face has hardened a bit. Your cheeks are beginning to look like tarps stretched too tight over the vendor's table."

"Women like that sort of thing."

A sudden wave of fatigue overtook him and he braced his hand upon his brother's shoulder to balance himself. He'd never speak of this feeling to Kili, knowing fully well that it would only make him worry, and he'd perhaps try to send him back. It was too late for Fili to turn away and try to start again. His ego wouldn't let him. So instead he clapped his brother merrily on the shoulder and gave him a dashing grin.

"Mm, yes, I see," he tried to say with as much mirth in his voice as possible, even though it felt as if his body would give way any second. "Well, I think it makes your face look drawn, like a horse's. Or perhaps that's just you worrying that my kill count will outnumber yours during this battle?"

Kili rolled his eyes at this and sucked his teeth. "Of course, it will. The enemies will take one look at your hideous face, and they'll all fall dead with horror. It's the beard or...lack thereof."

Fili put his thumb and forefinger to his freshly trimmed beard and stroked it curiously. They hadn't reached the mountain, and yet the sound of the raging battle below rode the wind and echoed around them. Thorin was a few paces ahead, sitting tall upon his pony in a full suit of battle armor. He hadn't spoken much since their departure from Lake-Town. There was a resolute and daunting energy about him and, though he moved with haste, he did not admonish the brothers for suddenly falling behind. Amendments between the two were long overdue, and he knew better than to encroach upon their private, fraternal affairs.

"Seemed like a good idea at the time," Fili finally said. "But I can't quite get used to the feeling of cold air on my cheeks."

"Admit it. It was your final, desperate attempt to win Nadi over," Kili said and Fili laughed good-naturedly.

"Should've stuck with Dina. She'd have never beat me with a belt."

"Nah, brother. Dina and I had quite a lot in common-"

"Dare I ask how so?"

"Well, we both had a fondness for pretty women! Or haven't you noticed?"

"Damn," Fili said. Kili had perked up a bit. There was an odd smile hanging around his lips, and Fili knew that it had to do with the mention of Nadi's name. This hurt, but he tried his best not to show it. There was a deeply buried part of him that still ached for her but, after all that he had put her through, there would simply be no possibility for a true union between them. Besides, he had come to understand that her bond with Kili was unbreakable, even if it wasn't perfect. Kili and Nadi would forever put each other through hell and back, but they'd always return to each other. It was just something that he would have to accept.

"Damn," he said again, but this time for a completely different reason. He forced himself to look away from Kili and simply breathe in the morning air. It was strange, then, how beautiful the world could look even whilst war raged only a few miles below them. A butterfly passed before his eyes and he watched it go as a tremulous sense of sentimentality rose within him. In those final harrowing moments before battle, he suddenly felt a love in his heart for Kili that simply couldn't be eclipsed. He swiped the back of his hand across the tears brimming along his lashes and turned his face towards the golden sunlight, closing his eyes and simply cherishing the warmth along his skin. Never again would he get to share such a moment with his brother. Unbeknownst to Kili, Fili had already come to accept his coming death. By his own will, he would not live to see another day.

"You're going to be a wonderful father," he said, his eyes still closed and face turned towards the sun. He could sense Kili's eyes on him, and the sudden change in his little brother's demeanor. "Much better than our's could have ever been."

"What have I done to sway your opinion?" Kili asked in a suddenly gruff voice. The timbre of it was so eerily reminiscent of Thorin's that Fili opened his eyes and glanced in alarm at his brother. Thorin had come to a stop a few paces ahead and was watching them, his mind obviously on other matters. Kili was looking dead at Fili with such grave concentration in his brown eyes that Fili found him quite intimidating. "Because, last I heard, you were trying to convince Nadi that I wouldn't care for my own son. What was it that you said? That'd I'd be a magpie and my kid would be a shiny toy to fawn over until I was bored?"

"Aye," Fili said. There was no use in denying it. "But how did you-"

"That night, in the Weeper's Cradle, I wasn't really sick. I was curious what you and Nadi would do once alone," Kili gave a short laugh. "You're not the only one who can be jealous, see. So I stepped outside and pretended to retch but, really, I was listening to you two talk. I'd always wondered how she truly sees me…never thought I'd end up questioning your perceptions of me as well-"

"I was angry, and speaking on impulse," Fili said quickly. "But only because I knew that you would be an excellent father. And, not only that, you'd been given the opportunity before me. I'd always thought that I'd be the one to start a family first and teach you the ways of fatherhood. But you…" he sighed. "It was like a carpet had been ripped out from right under my feet. Not for the first time, it felt as if you and Nadi had entered into a space that I could not follow."

"Well, you're wrong in assuming that Nadi and I will raise this child on our own. You will be right there with us, and you'll be the best irak'adad that this world has ever seen. You damn near raised us, didn't you? So what makes you think that you won't help us raise a kid as well?"

Fili knew the exact answer to this, but he didn't dare speak the truth to his brother. He pulled Kili into a one-armed hug and snaked his hand through his hair. "Will you marry her, then? Since I've failed so terribly?

"I plan on asking her as soon as I get back," Kili said. "I have the ring already. Here, look."

Kili reached beneath his collar and lifted a strand of silver that had been tied around his neck. Hanging upon its looped end was a magnificent silver ring with its edges wrought into the shape of leaves. At the center sat a polished ruby encrusted with a ring of small, roughly hewn diamonds. It was garish and showy - just like Kili's love - and Fili knew somehow that Nadi would love it.

"I can't wait to see it on her finger," Kili said in a shy voice as he spun the ring around in the sun. "Every time that I look at it, it'll be a reminder that she really is mine…after all these years chasing her and…agh," Kili shook his head, but he could not shake the smile from his lips. "To think that I will marry a woman so fantastic that even Death knew better than to take her magnificence from the world of the living. I have a feeling that we're going to have a boy, you know. He'll be a wild thing, full of wisdom and so inquisitive in nature. It's a bit nerve-wracking, knowing that one day I'll actually get to meet him. Do you think he'll love me?"

"If he's anything like his mother, he won't show it that easily. But, yes, Kili. He will love you. How could he not?" They pressed their foreheads together and then pulled back. Fili smiled into Kili's face, taking in every curve and angle of a face that had kept him tethered to sanity for so many years. He wanted to memorize it and carry it with him into battle, let it be the last thing that he saw before he closed his eyes for the final time.

"My brother, soon to be a father," Fili said in a strained voice. There were tears in his eyes but he willed them not to fall. "If you remember nothing else from me, then remember these words: you truly are splendid. And you will never know how much I love you."

"Fili, Kili," Thorin called to them. "It is time."

Kili's face broke out in a full smile as he picked up his reins. He gave them a swift snap and his pony reared up on its hind legs.

"Warriors first, gentlemen second!" Kili howled above the sound of the braying pony. "Race ya to the bottom!"

"Try not to choke when you eat my dust, brother!" Fili called back as he whipped his own pony into a frenzy. Together, the three Dwarves made their crashing descent towards the battlefield, hollering and crying out in impassioned tongues as they approached.

These were to be the last words ever spoken between the brothers.

X

"By the breath of the wind, growing colder

By the name of the dead, we'll avow:

With every prayer comes a sigh

With our gaze set on the sky -

We won't cry.

Bless this hour!

Magnificence,

Queen of all, magnificent!

Standing tall, indifferent!

Shepherd through fallen lands

Magnificent!

There is no equivalent!

Deliver us,

Spring of burning sands!"

Nadi rocked back and forth upon her pony, her head swaddled in a loose shawl. The people around her ambled on resolutely with their voices raised high in song. They had been gracious in their acceptance of her as their queen in Fili's absence. He hadn't left the kindest of impressions, and they recognized in her a maternal disposition and unique cunning. It was true: the journey had changed her so much. Never before could she have imagined herself leading a displaced people away from their homeland in search of a better life. So many parts of her character had come to change and evolve. Now, she found herself speaking with a confident rapidity. In her mind, she was constantly weighing all possible outcomes of every imagined scenario, and she had come to see the people of Lake-Town as a dutiful flock that could be corralled with hope - hope, that she was willing and capable of bringing to fruition. So enamored had she become of them that she had even revealed the matter of her pregnancy, which had been met with grace and kindness. The thought of a baby being brought into their midst was an endearing thought after all that they had been through, and their desire to communally raise her child as a citizen of Lake-town was palpable. For the longest, the women had walked along on either side of her discussing possible names while the men bickered back and forth on the appropriate way to raise a child. Even the few children among them had been excited by the coming birth and had joyously discussed becoming Big Sisters and Brothers to a new, Dwarven baby.

Now, they all sang as one an impromptu song that had been conjured up by one and picked up eagerly by the rest. She listened to their words of praise and felt emboldened by the way that they hailed her as a 'spring of burning sands' and a 'shepherd through fallen lands.' Someone up ahead was beating rhythmically at a drum as someone else strummed gaily at a fiddle. The sound of their voices and thrilling music was reminiscent of Dale. She threw her veil back and raised her voice proudly as someone blew a hoarse sound upon a wooden flute.

"Âzyungel, son of mine.

Soft as the breeze, and rising sun

You come.

And this world we shall forgive,

To make a space for you to live!

But will it all suffice?

You will be magnificent!"

The last word rolled off of her tongue with a mighty gust of breath. The people let their voices rise together as she held her note. The song had been based upon a tale praising their old kings, and now it was being used to hail her very own son.

"A king of all, magnificent!

Let us bless your hallowed name,

Welcome forth, oh gentle man!

Magnificent!

There is no equivalent!

Deliver us,

Spring of burning sands.

Deliver us...

Spring of burning sands…"

She let her head fall forward as their voices died down, the very last word rising in the air and then dispersing in an echo along the treetops. They walked in pensive silence for a while before picking up on old conversations. She listened inattentively, her mind still on Kili and his parting words to her. Where was he now, she wondered. If her timing was right then he, as well as Fili and Thorin - must have already made it back to Erebor and were most likely cleaving off enemy heads left and right. She imagined Kili's face grim and splattered with blood as he fought for his life. He'd be tired when he returned, and so she planned to have a bowl of soapy water ready with which she would wash his hair and face. And then she'd sit him down, kiss his brow, and ask that he marry her even though it wasn't in their custom for a Dwarven woman to do so.

"All your years spent wandering around like a lunatic," she'd say to him. "I'm afraid I must insist that you settle down. After all, there is someone that I'd like you to meet." She'd lift her shirt, show him the swell of her stomach. "His name is Sili. And I have a feeling that he's going to be two shakes off the ol' apple bough, pardon my meaning."

She had become so engrossed in imagining the surprise on Kili's face that she startled quite terribly at the feel of someone pulling her trouser leg. She looked down and found a young girl staring curiously up at her.

"What is it, little thing?" She asked. The girl hesitated.

"Lady Nadi? What happened to the other man?" She finally asked in a strong Lake-Town accent. "The one with the funny yellow beard?"

"Oh," Nadi said with a laugh. "You mean Fili? He's gone off to war, to fight for our homeland."

"Oh," the girl said. It was obvious that she wanted to talk, but wasn't exactly sure what she wanted to talk about. "Well, my brother said that Fee-wee packed his trousers like he packed his travel bags, and that's why you married him. What does that mean?"

Nadi blushed at this and searched over her shoulder for the offending culprit. "It means that your brother may be suffering from something that my people call inadequacy," she muttered to herself. "Tell me. I'm curious. What else has your brother said about our kind?"

"Well," the girl said, more than happy to oblige. "He said that you can't die! Even if somebody punches you really, really hard. Like this-" the girl playfully punched her own face and stumbled back dramatically. "Or! Or! If you go into battle and an Orc grabs you from behind and sucks your blood out of your ear, you still won't die! If I had your powers, I'd go into every war and beat everybody up!"

The girl stopped and began to kick out and thrash against invisible enemies in a childish pantomime of 'beating everybody up.' But Nadi had fallen still atop her pony and was staring down at the girl as people passed.

"What did you say?" She asked breathlessly.

"Yah! He-yah! Pa! Pa! Pa!"

"Girl!" Nadi thundered. "Look at me. What was it that you said, the last thing?"

"What? Oh. Well, I think I said…curses, what was it? Oh, yes, right! I said that if I had your powers, I'd-"

"-go to war," Nadi repeated for her. She drew her gaze away and stared blankly into the forest ahead. Of course, how could she have forgotten? She couldn't die, not now that Ana's soul fortified her own body. Khurza had tried to kill her once and hadn't been able to succeed. And so! If she possessed the power of reincarnation…

…then she possessed the ability to face the battlefield, unscathed.

There was a set of battle armor that she had taken from the mountain's treasure horde. It sat wedged between the baggage overflowing from one of the carts. She could see its textured metals and engrained gems flashing in the sunlight. Knowing what she did now, there'd be no way for her to continue upon this resigned retreat with the people of Lake-Town, not with a clear conscience. A few miles away, her very own kin was battling for their very lives. She had a duty to stand by them-

But she had to be sure for the sake of her son. She lowered her eyes and turned her head, speaking off to the side. "Ana," she said in an urgent whisper. There was no response, and so she tried again. "Ana!"

Then, to her great relief, she heard the other woman's voice.

I see in your head what you are planning to do, came her ethereal echo.

"Aye," Nadi said carefully, making sure to keep her voice low enough to avoid the detection of the surrounding people. "So then you know that there is no use in attempting to change my mind. I need to know that you will keep Sili and I safe."

Silence, and then: you stubborn, stupid, bullish pig-headed girl.

"Is that a yes, then?"

You are leaving me no choice. Know this, woodland warrior, your debt to me is great-

"Polish my arse. Oi-oi-oi! You there!" Nadi shouted, swinging her finger at a young man ahead of her. "Bring me that suit of armor!"

"M'lady, what are you doing?" One of the women asked but she ignored her. Quickly, she began to loosen the excess baggage from her pony's side and drop them onto the ground. It would not do to be overburdened, not with the added weight of the armor. The man placed the set dutifully in her arms and she draped it across the pony's back. The beast gave a buckle and snort but held up well enough. She gave the reigns a yank and made to turn away, but the woman was quick to step in front of her and hold her arms out.

"M'lady, please," she implored. "You cannot go to war, not in your condition-"

"-my condition is what makes going to war possible," Nadi said back. She snapped the reins again and the woman cringed as the pony reared up in her face. "Step back! You cannot stop me!"

"But-"

"Lady Nadi!"

Both women looked down at the young girl who was making a laborious approach, dragging a sword much larger than her through the dirt. Nadi was quick to lean down and catch it before the girl could hurt herself. It was a Dwarven weapon - complimentary to the armor set - and it shone magnificently in the sunlight. Nadi sighed at its coolness as she dragged her finger along the flat edge and then tested the tip of it. It was old but sharp enough. The little girl had begun her frenzied dance again: kicking, punching, and lashing out at invisible foes. She paused just long enough to look up at Nadi through her sweaty tangle of hair.

"GO GET 'IM, LADY NADI!" She squealed exuberantly. "Go beat up the bady guys and save Fee-wee!"

Nadi smiled and placed two fingers on her lips. "Of course. Zai adshanzi, my lady. You take care of the people while I'm gone."

With that, she turned and made for the battlefield.

X

The sound of war cries and clashing of weapons reached her before she even set foot in the valley. Hearing it made her blood run cold, for already she had been forced to bear witness to the killing happening upon the field below her. Sword strung along her back, she staggered down the face of the mountain, setting each foot down gingerly as if at any moment she might lose her hold and go tumbling to her death. Shrapnel, or something much less pleasant, whizzed above her head and cut a chunk out of the rock wall above her. She ducked, trembling, and then forced herself to stand. How would she fare in a war if such little things made her nervous?

I do not fear death as death is not with me, she thought to herself. I do not fear death, I do not fear death, I do not fear death.

She began to step with more confidence. She reached the bottom of the mountain and suddenly the valley of war opened up before. Orcs grappled with Dwarves as bodies were slain on that foul grey day. Her eyes swept across the field and she saw nothing but desperation, desolation, and disaster.

I do not fear death.

She set her boot upon the grass that had already soaked up a fair share of blood. Ana would not let her down, or so she hoped.

A young Orcling ran, hissing, to meet her. She swung her sword and cleaved its head clear off of its shoulders with a disgusted cry. A few Dwarves had spotted her on the outskirts of the battle. They turned and stared her down with open mouths. Another Orc, much bigger this time, ran to meet her on her left. She swung her sword again and split its belly. Foul-tasting blood splattered across her face and blinded her in one eye, but still, she moved forward.

I do not fear death.

She wasn't supposed to be there, she could see it in the faces of the Dwarves around her. A woman, on the battlefield, and such a young one at that! She had broken some code and defiled some ancient unspoken law. She let her boot down upon the leg of a grounded Orc and snapped its bones in two. She saw Balin in the distance, shaking his head, perhaps already mourning the death that was sure to come by her treachery. And beyond him, Thorin. His eyes were wild in his mud and blood-streaked face. He was shouting something to her, but she couldn't hear him over the sounds of the battle.

Everywhere, everything was wrong. She realized that she was fighting so many battles: one against the Orcs, one against the men, and one against herself.

A Dwarve whom she did not know rushed towards her and made as if to push her back, all the while cursing her insolence and demanding that she returned from whence she came. An Orc came up behind him and sunk its weapon into his shoulders. She faltered and took a step back. His reprimanding eyes remained fixed on her as he died. It was a sight that she would never forget, nor forgive herself for causing.

But she had no time for misgivings. She heard a crackling grunt behind her and ducked, just as a larger Orc wielded a club over her head. She moved without thinking and impaled it with the sharpened end of her sword. The creature clutched the handle with its large hands and gave it a yank. She yanked back and was thrown off of her feet as the sword dislodged itself from the injured beast. It fell with a roar that shook the ground beneath her body and she hurriedly scooted backward.

Where was her sword? There it was - she dragged it towards her and held it to her chest. There was a mighty, unearthly cry and she squirmed around to look. Azog the Defiler approached Thorin, wielding something victoriously in his hand. But what it was, she did not see. Someone or something leaped over her and she quickly closed her eyes, fearing that it was too late and she would be trodden on.

But when she opened her eyes, it was a welcome sight that greeted her.

It was Kili, with his hand outstretched to her. All she could do was stare in shock at his grimy face and disheveled hair. The frustrations of battle had aged him, and for a moment she didn't recognize him. Gone was the sweet-talking troublemaker of Erebor, here was the warrior prince bearing the pride of his bloodline.

"What? You're going to fight a battle belly up?" He said. "Save the dexterity for me!"

She thrust her hand in his and he lifted her up. He pulled her to his chest and for a moment they were face-to-face. The sounds of battle muffled around them. All she could focus on was the rasping sound of his breath and the way that his chest rose and fell against hers. He was a shred of familiarity in a world gone mad, carrying with him the memories of incense in her chambers and leaves crunching beneath their boots on the outskirts of Erebor. With him so near to her she felt calmer and stronger. Wise as the days that she led him through the forests and taught him the secrets of their earth.

He hastily put his forehead to hers and squeezed her shoulders. "Come on," he growled his rallying cry. "Come on!"

He turned and rushed into battle, turning once to look at her with a glance that livened her heavy heart. He would not coddle her. He would not protect her in this vicious battle. He led her, one warrior before another, into a fight that was her birthright.

"There!" He yelled, pointing at a group of Orcs making a hasty retreat along a mountain of boulders. They chased after them wildly, slashing and killing their numbers in a fervent frenzy. Higher and higher they climbed, ever in close pursuit of the Orcs until they reached the top of a boulder jutting out high above the battlefield. It was there that they waged a private and thrilling war - just the two of them against the cowering enemies. She stabbed one in the chest, withdrew her sword, and just as quickly cleaved the head off of another. Further ahead, Kili was riding the shoulders of a bewildered Orc and yelping like a madman. He threw his weight back, toppled the Orc, and ended its life with a dramatic flourish.

"Show off!" She called as he laughed and began to perform an odd sort of dance. "Watch the ledge, idiot"

"Don't worry about me! Worry about this sorry bastard!" An Orc ran straight at him and he bent his knees, holding his hands out as if anticipating an embrace. She watched with a madly beating heart as the two collided, too near to the ledge for comfort. Kili had dropped his ax and was instead grappling with the Orc hand-to-hand. His head snapped back and then forward in surprise as he was punched in the face. But recuperation for him took less than a second, and she watched with pride as he grabbed the Orc by the waist and slung it over the ledge to his death.

"Nadi," he said, spinning around to face her. "Marry me!"

"What?" She called back with one eye closed. An Orc had jumped onto her back and was trying to knock her off balance. She ducked down, reached back, and flung it over her shoulders. A quick plunge by her sword and its life was ended swiftly. "What did you say?"

"I…said…marry me," Kili grunted as he warded off several enemies at once.

"What?! Nuh-uh, no fair! I was going to ask you to marry me first!" She screamed over the sound of the chaos surrounding them. She sensed a presence behind her and she swiftly swung her elbow back, breaking somebody's nose in the process.

"Too slow, you know!" Kili said before he was swiftly surrounded by a swarm. She saw his hand raise over the clambering bodies surrounding him, brandishing something small that glinted in the shifting sunlight. "Here! I've already got the ring! I got it, I-"

Her attention was torn as she spun around and briefly grappled with a disfigured enemy. It proved harder to vanquish than the rest and she struggled severely. But the thought of Kili, and what he had so brazenly offered her, emboldened her and she fought with renewed vigor. It took an infuriatingly long time but, eventually, she was able to crush the foul being's skull with the handle of her sword. She turned around again with a joyous smile on her face until she saw Kili standing near the ledge with the end of a sharpened staff protruding from the center of his chest.

Their eyes met - his confused and hers alarmed - before the staff slid away and he slouched to his knees, revealing the figure of Khurza standing tall behind him. She raised the staff to her mouth and ran her tongue along its bloodied edge as he fell limp upon his back.

"NO!" Nadi screamed as her fingers curled around her head. "Mahal, save us! Kili! No! KHURZA, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?"

She didn't even wait for a response. She rushed forward and grabbed Kili by his ankles, dragging him backward and away from the smiling woman. A heavy track of blood followed his body. The blood was everywhere: spurting from the darkening hole in his shirt, sprinkling his face, staining her hands. She tried to shush him as she pressed her shaking hands against the steaming wound. He was coughing and sputtering, his eyes darting everywhere in his confused state. Gently, he pressed his hand to hers and then held his bloodied fingers in front of his face.

"Sh-she," he tried as his entire body rocked violently in shock. "She's k-killed me-"

"No. No, no, no, no," Nadi said. All traces of her previous exuberance were gone as she pressed her entire weight into her hands, attempting to staunch the flow of blood. So great was the pressure that she felt several of his ribs snap beneath her palms. An involuntary noise of disgust escaped her throat as she squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head away from him. "You'll be fine, you'll be fine, you'll be fine, you'll be fine-"

"H-have I…have I missed dinner? W-what is the hour?" He asked and she realized that he had already succumbed to delirium. "N-n-nadi," he said as the rain began to speckle his face. "Why are you crying? H-have I really missed dinner?"

"No, Kili," Nadi whimpered in a strained voice as she opened her eyes and looked down at him. "We will have dinner. Y-you just need to stay awake. Can you do that for me, starlight? Can you stay awake?"

Kili shook his head. His lashes were beginning to flutter as his face took on a tired look. "I…" he said with difficulty as his eyes fell shut. He swallowed loudly and then gave a shuddering inhale. "I think I will...j-join you…when I wake again-"

She threw herself over his still-warm body and sobbed freely against his shoulders. She couldn't bear to see the life leave his face, or watch as the spark in his eyes died out. It was cowardly of her not to provide him with strength and comfort during his last moments, but she was too moved by grief to care. Though the battle continued to rage below them, she was alone with Khurza and the dead bodies littering the boulder. The rain began to fall harder now, its loud splatterings and crackling thunder riding the whistling wind. She heard a match flare and looked up in time to see Khurza light a pipe. Her hand was still clenched tight around her hammer's staff. Each and every one of her knuckles was smeared with Kili's blood.

"I tol' you I wou' show you torment," she said, her strong voice carrying across the boulder. She flicked her fingers and the fire upon the match was extinguished. "How does it feel?"

"I am going to kill you," Nadi said, though the tremble in her voice made her sound weak. She would have dashed at the woman and shoved her off the very ledge but she could let go of Kili's body, couldn't draw herself away from his fading worth. "I am going to destroy you for what you've done to him."

Khurza shook her head as she sucked at her pipe. "You won' do shite," she said as she reached beneath her belt and pulled out a small blade. "Yer goin' to sit there like a goo' girl as I flay you alive. Y'wanna know why? Cuz you already gave up, the momen' I put my staff in yer boy's chest."

"No-"

"Don't you wanna join 'im?" Khurza began to walk towards her but then suddenly stopped. Her eyes traveled to a point beyond Nadi's shoulder and she frowned. "Stay in yer place, boy."

Nadi knew whom it was without even having to turn around. She had spent enough time with him to recognize his presence even when she wasn't looking.

"You sound worried," Fili said as he stepped out from behind Nadi. He didn't bother to spare a glance her way as he approached Khurza. "There is no need. We're allies! After all, we do share...similar interests, even outside of the chambers."

"Wha' similar interests?" Khurza growled. Fili glanced back and his face twisted briefly at the sight of Nadi cradling his brother. Then he turned to Khurza and quickly cleared his throat.

"Well, we both want Nadi dead. Obviously."

"...ob'iously?" Khurza hissed in disbelief. The rain was pouring in heavy slants, dampening their clothes until they lay slick against their bodies.

"What? Do you think that I'd forgive her, after what she did to me? After what she did with my brother, behind my very back? You've brought me to my knees many a-times, dear Khurza, but I am not a weak man. I will not be slighted." Nadi watched Fili's shoulders bounce as he chuckled, hating every fiber of his being as she listened in to his treachery. "That's why I followed them here. I'd figure I'd kill them, make it look like a battle accident and no one would be the wiser. But it seems as if you've already beat me to it. That blade, in your hand. Give it to me."

"Why?" Khurza asked over the sound of the rain. Lightning flashed across the sky, lighting the sharp angles of her face.

"Because," Fili said. "I want to be the one to flay Nadi's pretty face right off of her bones."

"Fili, you fucking bastard-" Nadi screamed but he ignored her. Khurza seemed to be steeped in thought. Then, she held the dagger out with the blade facing the ground. Nadi watched them watch each other as Fili made his slow approach. Khurza's eyes were blank with a harrowing concentration as he reached out. Then, seeing something on his face, her eyes suddenly widened and her mouth fell open in horror.

Fili was on her in less than a second. Quick as a flash, he had jumped up and wrapped his legs tight around the left side of her body. Nadi began to sob loudly as he wrestled the blade from Khurza's hands and began to stab her viciously in the neck. The two of them reeled unsteadily, growing closer and closer to the ledge. Fili was howling, his armed hand thrusting madly at Khurza's neck as she stumbled around uselessly. Even from a distance, Nadi could see the stupefied shock in Khurza's eyes as blood spurted from her throat and across her pale face. Nadi understood, then. Fili had only been distracting Khurza long enough to disarm her.

"Fili!" Nadi called. "Fili! Fili! Watch the ledge! Watch the-"

Khurza's eyes fell closed. The tension on her face slackened as she rocked back and forth beneath Fili's weight. Then she spun around - her arm shot out desperately - and scrambled frantically along the ledge. Fili gave another enraged roar before jumping off of her and shoving his boot between her legs. The force of it pushed them away from each other. Khurza's body tumbled limply from the ledge as Fili quickly stumbled back and fell onto his bottom. Nadi had begun to shiver violently from the roaring wind. She leaned down and pressed her face against Kili's neck, which had already become jarringly cold.

A silence spanned the ledge, punctuated only by the battle cries and sounds of weapons clashing below them.

She sniffled weakly and looked up through a faceful of tears to find that Fili had pushed himself up. His handsome face was turned towards the sky. Rain - or tears - had coated his face so much that the water was rolling in streams from his chin. But there was a peacefulness about him that she couldn't understand. His chest rose and then fell slowly as he gave a trembling sigh before reaching up and pushing his hair away from his face.

"Is he dead?" He asked, his eyes closed and lips stiff. His face was still turned towards the sky as if he was seeking out comfort in the cold curtains of rain slashing across his face. Nadi said nothing to this, knowing that the answer would be too great for either of them to bear. Never looking at her, Fili nodded and bit his bottom lip with so much force that it trembled.

"Do not tell them that I died like this," Fili said in a steady voice. "Tell them I died doing something honorable…protecting you and what was left of him. As a warrior should."

"Fili, p-please…" she whimpered, for she had already come to understand what he was planning to do. He was standing so near to the ledge that it couldn't have been a coincidence. "You don't have to do this…it's not what Kili would have wanted. Stay with me. Help me raise my son like you said you would."

Fili shook his head as a small, sad smile lit upon his face. "The world deserves better than me. I have nothing left to give…perhaps I never had anything to give from the start. I am so tired." Finally, his eyes opened and found her. There was a loving glint in the cool, sapphire blue of his irises as he took in her face. "Mizimith," he said under his breath, though the sound of it traveled across the boulder. "Menu tessu. I will always love you."

He kicked his leg up. She watched, as if in slow motion, as his head began to tilt backward, followed by his neck, chest, and then legs. It was as if there was a hook strung through his body and it was slowly pulling him off the ledge. She screamed so loud that it deafened her - shook her entire body - as he finally tumbled over the ledge.

"AAAAAAIIIIIEEEE!"She howled, clamping her hands tight around her ears. She leaned into Kili's chest and continued to scream, feeling the force of it course through his limp body and make him quiver. Then, his chest gave a dip and she quickly rose. It hadn't been her screaming - he was breathing! He was actually breathing!

She watched anxiously as his eyes fluttered and then darted around. He tried to lift himself and then fell back with a wince. His pale, shaking hand rose and prodded clumsily at the still-gaping hole in his chest. His eyes found the blood on his fingers again and he shivered beneath her. Quickly, she grabbed his hand and tucked it into her chest.

"He's gone, isn't he?" Kili croaked and Nadi nodded against his fingers. "I will not live like this," he murmured. "I will not live without him."

"No, my love, you must-"

"Nadi, look at me," Kili commanded and she forced herself to look into his big, brown eyes. "The wound is too great. I am weak. I will not live my life crippled and broken and without my brother." He coughed, splattering her face with blood. "I need you to be strong."

It was then, looking into his eyes, that she realized what he meant. She buried her face against his chest and shook her head wildly, wishing, more than anything, that it was she who had fallen off the ledge.

"I can't-" she whined. "I can't, I can't, I can't! Please don't make me do it-"

"Shh, hey…hey," he said. He slid his shaking hand weakly under her wet chin and forced her to look back at him. "You can. I would have no one else do it…wouldn't want to share my last breath with anybody but you. Nadi, please. Have mercy on me. Do not let me suffer. If you love me, you will have to let me go."

She was panting heavily. The white mist of her breath rolled between them, obscuring his face. Even in death, he was so beautiful - so, so beautiful that she could not bear the weight of it. But he was right. Kili was a warrior, and they had always been taught that a true warrior's death was meant to be carried out in battle - not in the comfort of the chambers or following a life spent as an agonized cripple.

No, she would not see him suffer. They had spent their entire lives in love with each other but, if she could not grant him this final, parting wish then it all would have been for nothing.

It would have to be quick.

She'd have to break his neck.

There was nothing more to be said. Seeing the resolution in her face, he gave her a proud smile and closed his eyes. His hand slowly fell from her chin, slid down her waist, and then came to rest upon her knee. She lifted him gently and slid her arm around the back of his neck, cradling it. Such a vulnerable part of the body, and yet so strong! She'd have to put her entire body into twisting it - failure to do so on the first try would be an agonizing experience for both of them. She took a deep breath in - taking in, for the last time, the curious mix of lavender, peppermint, and soil that was his familiar scent, tensed her arms…

…and gave a tremendous yank.

She whimpered at the sound of his bones breaking, but worse than this was the sudden snap that she felt beneath his skin. It had been done, she had succeeded. But she didn't want to look at him, could already feel the unnatural positioning of his head beneath her.

"Agh," she lifted herself and turned her face towards the sky, feeling her body overtaken by violent tremors. There was no movement from him and she quickly swiped her bloodied hands over her face. "Ah….ah…ah-"

She reached around blindly for her sword. Damn it all, she thought to herself as her hand found its cool edge. Damn everything. There was no use living in the world if it did not have Kili and Fili in it. She no longer cared for her son - he was only a formless specter in her mind's eye after all. All she wanted to do was join the two princes in Mahal's heavenly halls and never set her foot upon the cursed earth again.

She held the sword's edge to her own throat and sent out a quick prayer, begging her son for forgiveness and casting hope that one day he would be reborn to a much stronger woman. For no reason, she thought about the little blonde-haired girl of Lake-Town and was shattered to think that her faith had been misplaced. And for what? Nadi had ridden out like a fool to battle, naively convinced that her invincibility would be a saving grace-

Wait.

She dropped the sword and took a deep breath in. There was something that she had forgotten, and it was too slowly coming back to her. She put her hands on either side of her head and squeezed tight, shaking her head like a rabid dog until her thoughts cleared. Of course! Not all was lost! Why hadn't she thought of it before?

She took a deep breath in and screamed the woman's name as loud as she could.

"Ana!"

Nothing happened for a moment. And then suddenly she felt the pressure building in the pit of her stomach. It grew and rose higher, traversing through her belly, her lungs, and her throat. Her mouth was forced open as if by two hands and she craned backward as something akin to a heavy sigh escaped her mouth. A blurry blackness shimmered in the air above her, as if millions of small, dark bugs had congregated. Quickly, the shape began to take the nude form of a woman that she knew all too well. Nadi smiled and fell forward upon her hands as she gazed back at Ana's apparition. Gracefully, Ana fell to her knees beside Kili and looked down into his face.

"You can save him can't you?" Nadi asked breathlessly. "Heal him completely. It's within your power. You brought me back from the dead once-"

"You've already killed him," Ana said venomously. For once, her words were actually in sync with her gray lips. Nadi shook her head.

"That's because I did not know…I did not remember that you could bring people back to life. Please, Ana, you must try." Nadi clasped her hands and held them out to the cloudy specter. "You said that you wanted my son. But, here, I am offering you the body of the man that I love just as dearly. He is a warrior, just like me. You will not regret commanding his vessel-"

"He is…quite handsome, even in death," Ana said thoughtfully as she trailed her finger across his cheeks. "But - no. There is still life in him. It is weak, but I can feel it."

"And so take him. Take over his body. Bring him back to life and he is yours."

"As you wish…"

Ana gave a breathy sigh as she tilted her head back. Her body began to unspool again, its buzzing trails leaching into Kili's nose and ears. Nadi gave an exuberant cry as an inky blackness began to spill along his forehead as Ana infiltrated his body. His chest jumped and he gave an echoing sigh as his head turned slowly back into its normal position. The blood spilling along his clothes began to run black as his hands trembled by his sides. All was going well...

…until he suddenly fell still again.

Her breath caught in her throat and she punched him in the chest. He did not move again and so she punched him again and again, growing desperate with every hit. She dropped her head upon his chest and listened for a heartbeat, but there was none. She raised herself with a cry and shook his shoulders, begging him to rise again. But he did no such thing. His body remained cold, breath eluded him, and she realized with a sinking horror that Ana had failed.

Kili was dead.

"No! No! No! Why?" She screamed. There was a sound behind her, like hundreds of feet running across the boulder. She lifted him and shook his body wildly. His head bounced up and down like a broken ragdoll and she screamed in his pale face. "Why won't you rise again?!"

The hackles on the back of her neck rose. A shadow distended along the ground around her and she knew, then, that she was no longer alone. A smell like rotting meat reached her nose and she turned to gaze over her shoulder at the horrific sight of Azog the Defiler towering over her.

Quickly, she jumped up and tried to scoot away but he was too fast. Swiftly, he reached down and curled his fingers into her collar. With one heave he had lifted her up and off of her feet and was holding her face too close to his. She gave a sputter and choked as his fingers tightened in her collar. Never before had she seen the beast of legends up close, and the sight of his eerie amber eyes frightened her so much that she could not speak.

"Dwarven scum," he growled in his guttural tongue. Several Orcs had surrounded him and were watching her struggle with relish. "You will join your king."

"So be it," she said in a strangled voice. "If it shall be done."

Azog lifted her higher. He was going to choke her to death, she could feel it in the way that his fingers were digging into her neck. She tried to gasp, but could not force the air past her crushed throat. With her dying breath, she cursed her mother once more for bringing her into such a foul world, and then closed her eyes.

"Sili, m'boy," she said in a croaked whisper. "My only regret is never getting a chance to meet you-"

Azog's body gave a sudden jolt and he relinquished his hold. She fell to the ground and then quickly twisted around. He reached for her again, but his shoulder was thrust back by some outside force. An infuriated roar escaped his lips as he grasped at his shoulder and then withdrew the arrows that had impaled him. Two more arrows whizzed through the air above her and then embedded themselves deep within his waxen chest.

"Wha-" he screamed and she quickly turned around.

It was Kili, standing there behind her as she had never seen him before. His merging with Ana's spirit had lengthened his limbs so much that he now towered above her. Instead of black, his skin was tinged a ghostly blue as he reached back and lifted an arrow from its quiver. His face was deadset as he fired and found his mark upon Azog's neck. His shirt flapped and fluttered around the wound in his chest and she knew, then, that she was gazing upon a king reborn.

"Your sword," he said in a euphonious voice both feminine and masculine. She looked around desperately and found her sword lying a few places away. She jumped up and ran towards it, all the while protected by the arrows that he shot one after another with heightened precision. She couldn't keep her eyes off of him as he ran. He was so tall, and positively glowing with an unearthly phosphorescence as he tracked her movements, his burning eyes never leaving Azog's face. The very earth beneath his boots was lit with splendor as if he was an ancient God - indeed his face had hardened so much that he looked much older, and wiser.

She swiped up her sword and ran back towards Azog. The Orcs surrounding him cowered in fear as she slashed at them left and right with no discretion. Azog could do nothing to defend himself, so swift were Kili's arrows, and he was quickly being pushed back into the fray. Nadi gave a warrior cry and swung her sword back before bringing it around to slice the pale beast's belly.

"Finish him!" She heard Kili cry as arrow after arrow flew around her. "Finish him, now!"

But she couldn't. Only a fatal blow from Thorin's Orcrist could end the reign of the Pale Orc. But, despite this, she tried. She screamed as she slung her sword back and forth across the Orc's chest. Every cut caused a trail of foul blood to well up across his skin. Azog stumbled back with his arms wheeling around his side and Nadi used this moment to yank her sword back and bury it deep within his belly. The sound of the deathly screams around her rang through the air but could not eclipse her voice as she howled and twisted the sword beneath his skin. The Pale Orc gave a pained grunt as he reached down and gripped the handle in both hands. He and Nadi struggled against each other until he gained the upper hand and yanked the sword away. She fell onto her hands and knees as he turned and began to sprint along the boulder. Still, Kili's arrows flew: catching him between the shoulders and marking him like hackled thorns along the back of a frightened beast. Nadi cursed and struck the ground as she watched Azog making his cowardly retreat. She felt as if she had lost, and had no way of knowing that the injuries that they had dealt him would greatly weaken him in his coming battle with Thorin.

Still, she punched and pummeled at the ground with a restless disappointment. For a brief, fleeting moment she had really believed that she would be the one to finally kill Azog. But that didn't matter anymore, she realized, because her greatest wish had come true.

She pushed herself up and turned around to face Kili. He was standing still, his bow lowered by his side and his hair waving eerily around his ghostly face. Seeing him thus suddenly frightened her, as she knew that his transmigration had turned him into something not quite of their world. She took a curious step towards him and then stopped, overwhelmed by the changes that had rendered him completely unfamiliar. They watched each other from across the way and she realized that he wasn't looking at her, but right through her. He tilted his head curiously and listened in to something that she could not hear.

"Do you hear her?" She asked carefully, watching his glowing eyes rove distractedly over the boulder. "In your head, I mean. Ana. Is she there, with you now?"

"Who is she?" He asked in that strange, strange voice.

"She is the reason why you will live forever-"

"It is not natural," he said with a sorry shake of his head. "I...will not live this way...a slave to someone else's dark magic. Nadi. When our son is born, you tell him that I am proud of him and that I love him more than he will ever know. Promise me that you will tell him that, every day of his life."

"Kili, wait-!"

He reached up with his dagger and slit his own throat as she screamed in horror. The sad smile never left his lips as he crumpled to his knees and then fell splayed upon his back. She couldn't process what she was seeing and her mind quickly became overwhelmed at the sight of what he had done. She screamed and screamed and screamed until her throat went dry and her heart gave a jolt beneath her ribs. Choking, she gasped and scratched at her throat until she, too, fell forward upon the cold, rain-slickened ground.

X

Bilbo.

And just like that, it was over.

A year spent wandering on their quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain had finally come to a sudden, flaming halt. There was a part of him that dreamt of the quest never ending: indeed, he had come to feel so at home upon the overgrown trails and forested paths that they had traveled. Even as he had been suited up for war and then thrust in the flaming belly of the Battle of the Five Armies, he had believed that victory was certain and that, once claimed, they'd be free to wander somewhere else. Do it all over again. Chase the flight of fate.

"No journey ever really ends," Nadi had once whispered to him, nestled against his shoulder on some pale grass field, sun-drenched and golden. It had been way back before the pregnancy, the battle of the stone giants, and even their travels through Rivendell: back when he had been inclined to call her a young woman. "You just…step off of one path and find yourself on another."

Nadi.

There had been tales carried from Lake-Town following the battle: Thorin had arrived sometime in the night and saved Nadi from the ill fate that he had promised her. Bilbo blessed the messenger who had delivered the news, and found his heart suddenly spread through with warmth knowing that Nadi had lived and Thorin had atoned-

But there had been other rumors as well: rumors that a Dwarven woman with hair like blood cascading from her dark face had been spotted upon the battlefield. He refused to believe this - Nadi wouldn't risk the safety of her child for what she would deem a petty war waged by vengeful men.

Or would she?

He had to remember that he was thinking about a woman born to a race of warriors. Indecipherable codes of honor ran deep in her blood, he knew that. Her moods were uncanny and strange, the fires in the pit of her soul fanned by matters far beyond his comprehension. Perhaps she had seen the war as more than a petty vendetta, perhaps the sacrifices that she had to choose from were innumerable and heavy. To her, he mused, what would constitute the lesser of two evils: risking the life of her unborn son or forever harboring the burden of refusing to aid her kin in their greatest moment of need?

These were the things that he mulled over as he sat upon a dislodged pillar of Erebor. The pipe that he clutched in his grimy hands had been empty for a while. Still, holding it provided a sense of comfort to him. In another day and another life, he had sat with the very same pipe in his hand upon his porch, listening in as Gandalf invited him to take part in an adventure.

He had already said his goodbyes to the rest of the Company - or, rather, those still living. And, in a way, he had said goodbye to the last of Durin's line as well. Fili, Kili, Thorin - all dead, yanked out of the world by the careless clutch of fate and pressed down into an eternal slumber. He had snapped three buttons from his vest and pressed them into the blood-soaked dirt of the battlefield. He had contemplated burying another one in Nadi's name but he wasn't sure if she was alive or not. Wherever she was, he could only hope that she had finally found her peace even if she had found it through death.

A slow procession was moving towards him, preceded by the wail of a lone horn. He recognized Dain's stooped figure at the head of the procession, flanked by the remaining Dwarves from Wilderland. Realizing what he was seeing, Bilbo hastily scrambled to his feet and watched with a hand clasped over his quivering lips as they passed. There were three makeshift cots carried in a single line between the slow-moving Dwarves. Each cot had been covered with a white cloth, the bulges and ripples outlining the still bodies of the slain Durin's line. The wind picked up suddenly, tossing the corner edge of one of the cloths and revealing the side of Kili's waxen-pale face and grey lips. Tears began to spill across Bilbo's hand but he was not able to look away. Even in death, Kili was beautiful, so beautiful that he could have been peacefully sleeping - soon to wake to the morning sun and arm himself for his next adventure.

As Bilbo watched, one of Kili's hands slid from beneath the cloth and dragged limply across the ground. It was strange, his arm seemed longer than Bilbo remembered. The Hobbit leaned forward and squinted. Strange indeed, actually. The outline of Kili's body beneath the cloth seemed longer and taller - so much so that the heels of his boots were rocking against the bottom edge of the cot. It could have been Bilbo's imagination, or there really was a tinge of pale blue light glowing along Kili's skin-

Bilbo was startled from his thoughts by the familiar sound of a woman crying, "WAIT!" There was a commotion at the tail end of the funeral procession. Bilbo gasped and threw his hands up at the sight of Nadi struggling against the hold of two Wilderland Dwarves. He'd know that angry thrashing and fiery, golden eyes anywhere. He hopped from his perch and ran to her, throwing his arms around her even as she struggled to push him away.

"Nadi! Nadi! It's me! It's your friend, Bilbo," he cried above her screaming. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"He's not dead," she said between breaths. "He's not, he's…he's not dead, Mahal damn you all!"

She broke free of the Dwarves holding her but wasn't able to make it far before Bilbo clasped his arms around her waist and swung her around. She collapsed into tears upon his shoulders as she held him close, her eyes riveted on the widening distance between them and the procession. He shushed her as he patted her hair and slowly began to untangle her from her heavy armor. She was muttering and whimpering incoherently, and he was only able to catch a few of her spoken words.

"He's not dead," she said in a tone that sounded more like a question. "He's like me - he can't die. Ana is with him - she won't let him-"

"Who?" Bilbo asked as he pulled her sparkling breastplate over her head. Her hair unfurled from beneath the metal and seemed to explode into many bright curls along her face as she finally looked him in the eye.

"Kili. My husband-"

Bilbo's mouth fell open around a disheartened 'oh.' She was delirious, he decided, and knew not of what she was speaking. Of course, she would hang on to the desperate hope that her lover and best friend hadn't really died, he couldn't blame her for that. But he had seen Kili's body with his own eyes: no living thing could ever appear so waxen and unmoving.

Gently, he pulled her down to the ground and sat on crossed legs before her. He kissed her temple and patted her arms as she muttered and whispered to herself. The procession had long since passed out of their range of sight, eclipsed by the ominous overhang of Erebor. The time passed slowly as eventually her voice became too hoarse to mutter and her head began to rock against the weight of her sleepiness. At some point - he'd never remember when - she nudged herself next to him and lay her head on his lap. There, she slumbered for a few moments upon the very battlefield that had taken her kin's lives. He let her, ever so often shifting her body to the side when the horrors of her nightmares dredged the vomit along her throat.

He would have let her sleep forever if she had chosen to do so, there in his lap upon the empty lands surrounding Erebor. But as the setting sun began to shower them in its stinging, resplendent glory, she woke with a curious 'hmm?' and pushed herself up upon her elbows. Her eyes found him and he smiled, lightly. He had never seen her eyes so bright or wide before: the horrors of the battle had forever etched a haunted look upon her beautiful face.

`"He's not dead," she whispered and he nodded.

"No, of course, he's not. He lives on through…." His hand hovered for a moment above her belly before gently falling onto the slightly distended sliver of bare skin. She looked down in surprise then, perhaps remembering that she was with child, a wide smile broke out across her face. She placed her hand over Bilbo's and together they cherished the presence of the baby in silence. Bilbo wondered if the fluttering that he felt beneath his palm was the product of his own shaking hands or the young life nestled deep within her womb.

"Sili, yes," she said. "It's going to be a boy. I just…have this feeling. You know, my mother always said that women carry boys differently, can feel 'em in the heaviness of their feet and their insufferable cravings."

"The Shire would be a lovely place to raise a young man," he said. "I'll be stopping there for a while before I head on over to Rivendell. You know, you can always-"

"Nay," she said with a shake of her head. "I have a duty to my people. Or have you not heard that I am now the Queen of what's left of Lake-Town?"

"But Bard-"

"-can eat my trousers, if he so pleases." She stood up, placed her hands on her lower back, and gave a luxurious stretch. "There's a place in the forests bordering Lake-Town's waters. I plan to move them there, start all over again. I already have a name for us: the Last Homely Stead."

"It will be beautiful," Bilbo said. He stood up, placed her hands on her shoulders, and gave her a swift kiss upon the cheek. "And everything that you both deserve. Is this where we say goodbye, then?"

"If it is to be our final parting, Master Burglar, then so shall it be: bittersweet and honest and true. Never forget about me?"

"I couldn't, even if I tried. Take care, Nadi."

"And you as well, baheluh. Zai adshanzu ra barafzu, azygungel."

He nodded, twice. They turned away from each other at the same time, lifted their feet, and moved forward upon their separate paths. Their journeys hadn't ended - no, they had simply chosen paths diverging. Neither of them cried, for crying would come later: in the dim pantry of Bilbo's Hobbit hole, in the dilapidated building upon the hill where Nadi would make a home for her people. Bilbo looked up and thought of the sun - how, when it slid beyond the fold of some far-off hill, its sleepy orange-gold glowed across the land and appeared just like the bright stained glass of her irises. He thought of Kili with his deep brown eyes and joyous laugh, Fili with his temperance and graceful princely bearing, Thorin with his splendor and warrior heart. He thought of home, wherever it lay before him: perhaps a hole in the ground or a room in a city built on the light reflecting off of its crystalline fountains. He thought of a young man with a face that he could not yet see, eyes like the sun, high cheeks, long hair, wild, untrammeled, free.

He placed his staff upon the ground and made his way back slowly, step by aching step, along the path leading back to what he knew best.

X

Ending Note: We have one more chapter left, which I'll post next Tuesday. I couldn't end this story here without y'all meeting Sili! Stay tuned!